The Age of Exploration Europe Encounters

the World as taken from Rayla Elementary School

Why did explorations happen when they did?

►A variety of factors all came together to make the time period (1450-1700) the “age of exploration”

►Some of these factors were pushes, external forces acting on Europe

►Some were pulls, motivations and things that attracted the Europeans

What is the easiest way to remember it all?

►The Three G’s: Gold

Glory

God

►Although a little simplistic, this mnemonic is a great way to remember the main motivations of the European explorers.

The First G: Gold ►Many explorers were looking for gold, but

remember that it is really wealth, not just gold that explorers were after.

► Europe needed gold and silver to fuel the rising banking system

► Europeans also desired spices which could be found in southeast Asia (Da Gama’s voyage to India made him a 3000% profit!)

►Other natural resources were sold for profit as well (timber, sugar, tobacco, fur, ivory, etc.)

The second G: Glory

► Just like the first G, Gold, Glory was a relatively new idea in Europe

► Came out of the Renaissance ideal of Humanism, and the focus on individual achievement

► With the rise of the printing press, the idea of gaining fame for one’s actions was more possible (Marco Polo)

► Also, individual kings wanted glory for their kingdoms, so competition spreads

The Triumph of Fame, a Flemish tapestry from 1502.

The third G: God

► Europeans had always seen spreading Christianity as a good thing

► Spain wanted to convert all Spanish citizens to Catholicism

►Colonization will become a race to convert native peoples to a particular brand of Christianity

► Jesuits (Catholics) are some of the most active

How did these explorations begin?

► The first to encourage new ship explorations was Prince Henry of Portugal, known as “Prince Henry the Navigator”

► Started an school to teach sailors how to navigate and explore

► Combined ship technology learned from Islam with new European innovations

► By the time of his death in 1460, the Portuguese had sailed as far south as the Gold Coast of West Africa

What were the new technologies that enabled explorations?

► The caravel was a new, faster, more maneuverable ship

► Older ships had square sails, caravels had triangular sails (easier to change direction)

► Bilge pump system enabled ship to float higher (less likely to run aground, easier to explore coasts and rivers)

► Compass, astrolabe, maps and other technologies from Islamic culture all helped make explorations possible